Spirit Enslaved
by Dark Memory
Summary: Dark, dark story about Seymours past and posession of Anima leading up until his final events in the game. Rated "R" for various gruesome scenes later on...
1. Not My Fault

The story's title represents the Aeon that Seymour is bestowed with. Anima is Latin for "Spirit." That spirit is chained against its will, evidenced by its summoning and the game's cut scenes. During its overdrive, Oblivion, it breaks free of its imprisonment; a concept that will show up later in this story.

_What do you do when the depression overpowers you? How do you keep your sanity as the darkness reaches up and over you, suffocating? Who can be expected to deal with this kind of pain? I'll tell you what I do: I kill._

"It's Not His Fault"

I woke up again today; too bad. After picking up my belongings necessary to my "education," I left my residence to the place I hated most in the world; the school. I don't know if you could even call it an education that I received. It was more like a reality check, always reminding me that I was a permanent defect upon Spira.

I slowly walked my way down the slums of Guadosalam. There was dirt in every corner, trash on every unpaved road. I passed the chambers that led to the Thunder Plains and The Farplane; wishing every single day that I could remain in that place forever. Sadly, I always reached my destination. I entered the classroom at the farthest end of the school, all the way having things thrown at me and being tripped almost four times. I wanted to fight back… but I was weak. I had nothing to start my own Civil War with. Looking back now, I still wonder how people can ask me "why I did the things that I did." Who wouldn't resent their own race, when they've all betrayed you?

I sat down in my sight in the back of the class. The teacher had placed a row of empty seats in front of me, leading horizontally across the room; a sort of wall that was supposed to separate me from the other students. Like I needed to be separated from them, more than them from me! It never stopped them from throwing sharp objects at me from across the room, or from punching me as I walked to the front of the class, the latter of which always making our teacher laugh.

The entire school was full-blooded Guado. Hell, all of Guadosalam were full-blooded Guados. I was the only outcast, if you excluded my mother. She had it so easy. She got to stay home all day, taking care of the house.

"Take **this** half-breed!" My thoughts were interrupted, as anybody else's would have having their head collide with a thrown stapler. It cut open the side of my head, only about two centimeters away from where the scar was from the last time it had happened. I tried to report this abuse but no one would listen. No, no one cared.

I went home that very moment. Everyone laughed as the tears streamed down my face. I opened the door to our manor and pushed my father aside, as if he was nobody. My father, the one who allowed all of this to happen to me, was responsible for the actions of all of his people; my father, Lord Jyscal, leader of the Guado. My mother was in the living room tending to the flowers as she always did.

"Why are you home so early dear?"

"Look at me; turn and face me for a change. I stand before you bleeding from my head."

I had never seen my mother cry quite like that before. Maybe it was the first time I ever loved her. It certainly would not be the last. She cried for the longest time. She kept apologizing for the ones who tortured me, as if it was her. She felt responsible for me being born half-human. I never did blame her. I blamed my father, then, now, and forever.

My mother was a beautiful, auburn haired woman. She was as talented as she was lovely. My father had defiled her; not only her body, but her life. He took away her purpose and gave her a new one; me. Because of him, we still face the ongoing struggle against the large, undying creature that feeds on Spira's happiness. Sin would be gone, If I had not lived. My mother would have defeated it, once and for all, I'm sure of it. She was powerful, he was weak, and I was both. My weakness was my strength; my power was my latent ability. The ability I was bestowed with from my mother, the ability to communicate with the God. My mother would have been a legendary summoner. Now she had to take care of me; had no purpose in life, nothing to do but cry on my shoulder. I changed that day. I could not have this anymore…


	2. Test of Fayth

Test of Fayth

I woke up again today; such a pity. All the worst years of my life, however, are almost put in the past. I have finished with my studies and will begin to pursue a career as a summoner. Though I no longer have to face the cruel faces of my fellow peers, I feel the torment will stay with me forever. Let us see what they think of me when I rid them of Sin.

I left my home today. I heard there was some commotion going on in Bevelle, but I did not know what. Apparently, some man was being imprisoned there for violent tendencies. He went off hurting random civilians when they didn't give him the answers he had been hoping for; he had also apparently believed he was from Zanarkand. Now I knew this man was crazy, but he was claming to be from the holy city at the world's edge. I wondered what strange things this man could tell me. After all, If I were to become a summoner, I might be visiting this place someday.

I took off for Bevelle immediately. I told my escorts to wait for my return. I did not need them to burden me because of my social class. I was no one andmy father was well known; but I would soon change that.

I had a formidable amount of black magic spells at my disposal, and made short work of the fiends in the Thunder Plains. I looked back only once at the storm that never stops to behold its beauty. Always raging on, as if with violent anger. Then, I entered Macalania forest. Its crystalline beauty made its presence everywhere from the sparkling flowers to the trees long frosted over. I began to make my way past a lake and took the left route of two crossroads. I was tempted to keep moving and visit the Calm Lands. The sight of the giant scar, the testament to Sin's power, would have kept me there for hours. I just moved onward.

I had reached Bevelle sooner than anticipated. If all the fiends in the world were this easy without Aeons, I knew I would make a great summoner. I was guided to the prison cell of the strange man; I only had to follow all the commotion. Apparently, Lord Braska had shown up. His guardian, Sir Auron, was a stout young lad. He had a face that showed wisdom far beyond his years. Lord Braska himself, however,appeared quite weak. I could tell that he could probably only use white magic as of now, and that he relied on the power of his guardian too much.

The man's name was Jecht. He wore unfamiliar clothing, that of an athlete, yet seemingly from the future. This amounted to the fact that he was claiming to be the greatest blitzball player in the world. This man was rude and unmannered. He yelled at anyone who passed his cell and kept screaming about his life in Zanarkand. He gave a representation of what it looked like; a representation that was easily confirmed by the visions formed by the memories of those who had been sent to the Farplane. Although no one believed this man but myself and Lord Braska, he still attracted quite the crowd.

Afterwards I spoke to Braska, my supposed idol. He was the underdog summoner; expected to fail and having but one guardian. His expected failure was further supported after agreeing to take the man from another world with him on his pilgrimage. This man, with no apparent talents other than rumors of athletic greatness, was to accompany this band of idiots. These were supposed to be our saviors? I stopped looking up to Braska that day.

I randomly glanced over my shoulder and gasped at this unexpected sight. My father, Jyscal, had made the trip here as well. He was walking with Maester Mika, leader of all Spira. What would this god on earth want with my father, the lowly man I hated with everything inside? I did not have to wait long, as my father came over and gave me the horrifying news; he was going to be ordained a master of Yevon. All my accomplishments from that moment on would be weighed against his. He was a pure-blooded Guado, loved by his people. Now he would have even more power over them. I don't know whether it was envy or just pure hatred that made me decide my next course of action.

That day I lost my faith in Spira. I lost my love for being a member of this cruel world that had cast me and my mother aside. Little did I know, she was taking this much harder than I was.


	3. The Will to Live

_Just to clarify, this whole story is being told from Seymour looking back upon his past; from where and for how long it will go, you will have to read to find out. Chapter 1 took place in his adolescent years in school. Between Chapters 1 and 2, Seymour's mother gives her soul to Yevon to become a Fayth. Seymour continues his studying toward becoming a summone, working his way up from a disciple of Yevon to a temple monk, which was his current status in Chapter 2. _

The Will to Live

It happened three months later. My father was ordained maester on the holiest of days; the first day of The Calm. Yes, Braska, Auron, and Jecht had brought peace to Spira. It was the worst day of my life. My father brought me in front of the crowd and told them that I need not become summoner because my job was already done. Everyone laughed, except for me. We were both grown men, yet the fact that he was my father made it seem to him that he could push me around.

I walked home alone that day. I took it out on the fiends as I mercilessly burned them, one Fira spell after the next. I would perform the spell on the corpses of dead fiends to burn them up into dust. I would make even the smallest of fiends suffer, knowing that these wandering souls had once been civilized people. That's what made the thought all the more pleasant.

By the time I had reached Guadosalam, I had suffered the humiliation of my former classmates. They stood alongside each other tossing various remarks about me not being able to live up to my father and me being a freak. They began to all sound the same to me. And then….

"… and what's wrong with his mother? Why would she marry a Guado? Sounds like one stupid bitch to me, right? Probably just wants an easy ride to fame and fortune!"

I turned slowly. If my anger could have been represented in a physical manifestation, my birth born blue hair would have shot up a crimson red. My eyes glared at them with an anger that I had never felt before. They were so common, so lowly…

…they were fiends.

I walked over to them and they began to laugh even harder. Then, I started to laugh. A smiled at them manically, and saw them shake before me. I put up my fists and slammed one of them into the walls of the shop. He bled profusely and apologized. I had almost forgiven him. I turned and began to walk away.

"Yeah, better run half-breed. You couldn't pick a fight with a **real** Guado!" I turned to face my adversary. At my waist, my most powerful weapon; the Staff of Ill Tolerance. I raised it high above my head and didn't think twice. My enemy vanished in my blaze of glory. Not as fast as imagined though; I wasn't deprived of the sight of my opponent's suffering or the looks on his friend's faces. Yes, I'll remember it for forever. His body laying burning upon the floor. I never halted the spell; the flames continually erupting, slowly decaying his skin off of his skull until the only thing left of him were the blackened ashes of his robes, and the burnt remnants of his skeletal frame. The other two ran home crying. There were no witnesses.

I entered my manor to find no one home. In the place where my motherused totend the garden, there was a note.

"Seymour, this is for you. Your father will be out in Bevelle for awhile. I trust you to keep this to yourself. Please do not hate me for what I am about to tell you. I am so sorry for the life I have given you. Even recently, I can see the darkness burning inside you. It will reach the surface soon. I can no longer bear to live knowing I was the source of all this chaos. I have left for an abandoned temple, the Baaj Temple, in a secluded region of Spira. Only you would no where it is. If you ever need me when you become the greatest summoner ever, please, look for my guidance. I am giving my soul to Yevon willingly. This Calm will not last, and I know that you are the one who will bring us the eternal calm. I'm sorry for leaving you, but I could not shield you from the harsh reality that is Spira, an endless cycle of death."

The note was painful; it was either or a trick or an illusion. The fact that someone would right a note as my mother sickened me. Yet, it had her presence and her wording. I did not want to believe it was fake. I knew where her soul eternally lay at rest, trapped in a statue. I left immdiately for Baaj Temple.


	4. Lifeless

Lifeless

The Baaj temple was a vast graveyard of Yevon's past. Fiends inhabited the water and everything was made of brittle stone. I had to swim through some aquatic chambers before reaching my destination. The Cloister of Trials was nowhere to be found; due to all of the ruins in the area, it could be assumed that it had definitely existed at one time, but had long since been destroyed by time.

I began to question the power of time. How could it have such an effect on its surroundings? The only thing it couldn't seem to have power over was Sin; that was eternal. I thought that maybe if I could harness time to use at my disposal, I could acquire ultimate power. As I thought more on this, I came across two spheres side-by-side on the temple ruin wall. They were recorded in the Al Bhed heathen language. I only felt that way about them because it was programmed into any Yevonite's skull. I myself knew the horrors of prejudice; I certainly would not be a hypocrite now. It did seem apparent that the Al Bhed had desecrated this temple for some reason however. The message was all in Al Bhed of course, but I could still make out some of the major words:

"We… protect… summoners… stop… sacrifice… useless…" I knew now that their intentions were pure; I was being far more lenient than perhaps a maester would. As long as my mother's fayth remained untouched, I did not mind.

And as I thought, the chamber was unscathed by anything human. Even the Al Bhed would not mock such a sacrifice, even if they did believe it was futile. And maybe it was, but I never want to think of my mother's death in vain.

I entered the holy chamber of the fayth and gazed unto the statue that my mother had become. It was flawless; perfectly beautiful just like she had been. Her facial features were highly detailed, though cracked under the weight of time's burdens. I worried what kind of gift she had prepared for me;no onevisited this temple, nor even knew where it was. I would have an aeon all to myself that the world had never seen before. Would it be powerful? I did not know; how powerful could my calm, sensitive mother be?

I began to pray. The hymn of the faith echoed throughout the hallowed temple. For the first time in almost ten years, I saw my mother. She flickered past my vision and showed me our memories. She spoke to me in the same soothing voice she always had and told me to accept her power; a power she had reserved specifically for me.

"Seymour, I love you. I am sorry for putting you through this suffering. I will grant you my aeon, Anima. It means "Spirit." It will always be enslaved, just as you and I will always be, in our hearts. I want you to use this aeon to purify Spira from Sin. This power, though bound tightly, is catastrophic. It forges unimaginable strength from the pain in its user's heart, which is why it should be perfect for you. You two will be bound by your emotion. It will feel your pain and come to your aid, battling with its own. It will bleed for you. Please, I hope this power can someday help you find not only Spira's calm, but a calm for yourself."

_"A calm for myself. The only way I will ever truly be at peace is when I'm dead…"_

And that's when I knew; the way to purify Spira was through death. I knew I would be the one to end all of Spira's pain. Anima would help me. I neededto summon it onlyonce to know that this aeon was far more powerful than any I could ever hope to be bestowed with on my pilgrimage. Becoming High Summoner would not be necessary. The way to power lay in the hands of the highest council of Yevon, with the masters. I knew exactly how I would become one, too.


	5. Black Pilgrimage

Black Pilgrimage

After my long wait, Spira's hope and salvation returned. Sin was reborn anew. It made its newly reborn presence known with a commemorative destruction of an entire town. This time, it was the port Kilika that faced its fury. It was made known to me by my father that he was lucky not to have been there about an hour earlier, or he may have been killed. What a pity.

I was not about to put twelve long years of training Anima to waste. Even if Sin was the most powerful tool of warfare in existence, I still was naive enough to believe that Anima could make short work of it. No fiend had ever lasted more than a few seconds before its colossal strength. Yet, maybe I underestimated the size of Sin. Either way, it would have to be destroyed. Anima would be my route to superiority on my black pilgrimage of purifying Spira. Purify it from people like my father, from the maesters of Yevon, and yes, even from the summoners. And I could not have anything stand in the way of it.

I went upstairs to my room to think about what I would do next. There were so many factors I needed to consider. What if Sin turned about to be more powerful than my great aeon? What if the maesters stood in my way? And what of the new lady summoner, Braska's daughter, Yuna? Would they all oppose my intentions?

I could not concentrate. Too many things could go wrong. If Sin could be so easily destroyed by my aeon, why was it so feared; how could it not have been beaten by now? Many summoners have been lain to waste on the journey to Zanarkand for the final summoning, yet I have made it to Zanarkand many times over now. Maybe my one aeon truly was enough.

Three days previously to the destruction of Kilika, I visited Zanarkand. I knew the final aeon could not be acquired without the reincarnation of Sin, but I went for a "test run" anyway through the Cloister of Trials. The Zanarkand cloister was no harder than any other in particular; in fact, the one in my own temple of Macalania required more intelligence. I stood in the center of the final chamber and faced the guardian; a towering red demon with devilish features. It had scythes for hands that could probably sever my body apart and a spike tail that looked like it was used to inflict some sort of venom. I cast my initial fear aside, just like I always had.

The demon attempted to make me go berserk with anger. It was quick to react with counters from any attack. I cast some blizzara spells on it that did a minimal amount of damage. It slashed its arms at me and I barely dodged this attack without it slicing open my chest. This guardian was not the challenge it appeared to be and it angered me that _this_ was the final test of Zanarkand. I unleashed a technique I had only recently perfected. I considered it an overdrive, only used when I faced an enemy that wasn't worth wasting Anima on. It was made from a cocktail of the four major elements cast at the same time, but with a little spin on it from the power of Anima to create a devastating magic explosion that I called my "Requiem."

The match ended thereafter, just as I knew it would. The elevator then became operational. I proceeded downstairs into the Chamber of the Fayth. Inside the chamber was not a typical Fayth, but a staircase leading to the highest sections of the Zanarkand ruins. The world seemed distorted from uphere and the sky was pitch black with stars radiating across the twilight. Thissight did not belong; it was only noon.

I felt someone was near. I could tell it was notthe spirit of anything that could be living; though I was only half-blooded, my Guado senses were still strong enough to detect the scent of the Farplane. And from amidst the graveyard of fallen summoners, a beautiful and mysterious woman appeared before me. She had long, blonde hair and an aura of power that almost matched my own.

"You are a summoner, yes?" The spirit asked me the question, but already knew the answer. Why else would anyone make the journey? "If you are here, then it must mean that Sinhas returned like it always will, and the world must once again create a summon to destroy it."

"You are…Yunalesca." I knew it from my studies. She was the first person to ever defeat Sin. "Yunalesca, why does Sin always come back?"

"Sin is eternal because the hatred of this world is also eternal. It exists as a means of helping the world end its suffering. It interprets its actions as helping the world." So, Spira really was a cycle of death.

"Sin is not here yet. The Calm is almost over and it will be here soon. I wanted to see if I could do this; if I really had it in me to defeat Sin and make it here. The journey gave me no difficulty."

"You do indeed seem to be more powerful than many other summoners I have seen. But I must warn you; you must sacrifice a life for the final summoning. It is pointless for a summoner to come alone, no matter how powerful."

I did not understand why this was necessary. I knew that a summoner gave its life to give Spira some temporary peace from chaos and that the final summon would also take the summoner's life. But another sacrifice was necessary just to make the final aeon? I inquired Yunalesca further.

"What about the last summoner party? Ten years ago, the party of Braska came here and gave Spira the Calm. What happened to them?"

"The party was ill-prepared for the trials of the final summoning. The man they called Jecht offered himself to me, and I made him Braska's final aeon. Braska stood exactly where you are now and summoned his former guardian. Sin swallowed him whole and the aeon defeated it from within. Now, that aeon has returned as Sin."

The news was shocking to say the least! The final aeon did not destroy Sin; it became Sin!

"That can't be! But…but the teachings say that…"

"The teachings of Yevon are a falsehood that I was the first to discover. I gave my life and the life of my love to defeat Sin. Too late did I realize that the maesters of Yevon made up these teachings to keep the people of Spira calm. They are all hypocrites; they even keep machina inside their sacred temple of Bevelle."

"Yunalesca, there has to be another way. My aeon; I believe it is powerful enough to beat Sin without the final summon. I don't want anyone else to become Sin. I can get rid of it permanently."

Yunalesca let out a heavy sigh. I didn't appreciate being underestimated. "Seymour, there is no other way of defeating Sin. I don't want you to feel this way. There was another man who doubted the process. He was one of Braska's guardians, Sir Auron. He attempted to end the cycle and I was forced to stop him."

"You think I am as lowly as Auron? If I wanted to stop you I would. Just like if I wanted to stop Sin, I would. But I want to control Sin; I want it to be my summon. But if it is weaker than Anima, then having it is pointless."

"You're crazy. No one but the master fayth on Gagazet can summon it. And no one but the God, Yu Yevon can control Sin."

"Then Anima and I will defeat the God if we must. Come Anima, let this pawn of fate see the one that will purify this world."

The sky opened up fora large, rusted hook to come out of the sky. _The hook from the Heavens descended into Hell._ It found its target and grabbed hold. Steadily the monster born from my anger appeared. It towered over us and screeched menacingly. I did not know the death to fear, before Yunalesca. She had never seen anything like it.

"This…is a Final Aeon!" I did not understand. "The power of this aeon can not defeat Sin, but it can become Sin, as a Final Aeon can. It uses the pain of loss as power; **it is sacrifice enough just having it**."

My mother would not be Sin. She must have felt my feelings towards my mother. "I too gave up my love to defeat Sin. I know what it feels like. I miss Lord Zaon everyday, but it was necessary for the happiness of Spira."

"The only way to bring Spira happiness is to end it."

"Maybe you're right. I can only say that I am much happier to be dead, than living on a world with someone as crazy and powerful as you are. I am not needed here. Goodbye, Seymour..."

Yunalesca vanished from my sight, leaving behind a sphere of her and her guardian lover. She had once lived in Zanarkand. Now she can stay here in their ruinsforever. I hope to bring that kind of feeling to everyone someday.


End file.
